Reading Roundup 2013.05.06

Hope you are enjoying your Screen Free Week! (Hey, what are you doing here?)

Dear Less-Than-Perfect Mom, Huffington Post (Apr. 30, 2013)


Playgrounds with Natural Elements Offer More Benefits for Children than Traditional Parks, Inhabitots
(Apr. 26, 2013)

The Play Date Gun Debate, NY Times (Apr. 29, 2013)
Talking about guns with other parents

Willie Nelson Turns 80: One Person Carrying a Message can Change the World, April 29, 2013
Singing: Angel Flying too Close to the Ground (H/T Don Winslow)
Democracy Now!

Grading Writing: The art and science — and why computers can't do it, Washington Post Answer Sheet (May 2, 2013)

The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries, NY Times, (Apr. 30, 2013)

How I became a hipster, NY Times (May 1, 2013)
Very funny story about being hip in Brooklyn.

Reading Roundup 2013.04.26

Another big reading week. Enjoy!



Watching Movies with the kids is a mixed bag, New York Times, (Apr. 19, 2013)
Still another reason why Starboy doesn't watch TV or movies.


Do e-readers inhibit reading comprehension? Salon (Apr. 14, 2013)


Standardized test questions kids have to answer that don't even count, Washington Post (Apr. 23, 2013)


How my job went from great to infuriating, Washington Post (Apr. 21, 2013)

New Standardized tests feature plugs for commercial products, Washington Post (Apr. 20, 2013)
It was only a matter of time. Bastards.

NCTE Position on machine scoring of standardized tests, National Council of Teachers of English (Apr. 2013)
Hint: They don't like the idea.

5 Benefits of Sportscasting your Child's Struggles, Janet Lansbury (Apr. 25, 2013)
Lovely article. H/T to The Thumbstumbler

10 Things that are More Important than Discipline, Positive Parents (Jul. 19, 2011)
In case you need one more "do this" article on parenting.

What pro-spanking research misses, The Attached Family, (Oct. 2, 2012)
""Spanking kids does not deter behavior. Like beating a dog, it just makes them mean. "



The Curse of Fertilizer, National Geographic (May 2013)

Commuting Wild Dogs on the Subway, The Sun, (Jan 12, 2011)
Totally random.

Vivian Maier documentary in the works, Messy Nessy Chic (Feb. 18, 2013)

Reading Roundup 2013.04.19

Big wordy week! Here are a few things that caught my eye. Happy reading!

In Time of Tragedy, Look to Yourself First, Bonnie Harris Connective Parenting (Apr. 16, 2013)
Really great article about refusing to let fear overtake your parenting in these sometimes disturbing times.

What if Everybody Understood Child Development?, Huffington Post (via Not Just Cute)
(Apr. 5, 2013)
"Most people, I imagine, would be surprised to learn that understanding child development is not one of the standard requirements to become a teacher. Or maybe not. Maybe most people, including those who decide what teachers need to know, are unaware of the incontestable connection between how children develop (not just cognitively but also socially, emotionally, and physically)and how they learn."

Lessons in Domestic Diplomacy, New York Times (Apr. 12, 2013)
How to argue more effectively, with less drama

Good Teachers are a Flaw in the System, Teacher Tom (April 15, 2013)
"How does anyone expect teachers to work under these conditions?"

Six Vintage-inspired Animations on Critical Thinking (Brain Pickings)
Great graphics

How Nature Makes Kids Calmer, Healthier, Smarter, Aha Parenting (Apr. 15, 2013)

Exercise, friendships, and puzzles beat back dimentia, NPR (Apr. 15, 2103)


My So-Called 'Post-Feminist' Life in Arts and Letters, The Nation (Apr. 29, 2013)
Hat tip to Scott Lewis Photography
"...Nearly every review refers to me as a stay-at-home mom. One such article is entitled "Battlefield Barbie," which calls me a "soccer-mom-in-training." ....The general consensus is that the book is good, but I suck. ...Talkasks if I'm worried I'll be labeled a slut. I object to both the word and the question; the journalist prints them anyway.Brill's Content and The Women's Review of Books insinuate that I brought on my own rape and various other crimes that I experienced at the hands of men—armed robbery, a knockout blow to the skull from a crack addict.Salon resorts to slut-shaming and libel. New York thinks I'm an insult to feminism for having left a promising career behind."

Reading Roundup 2013.04.12

Here are some stories I found interesting this week.

Wow, don't miss this version of The Cure's "Lovesong" from this week's American Idol. Chills.

How can you set limits if you don't use threats to enforce them? Aha Parenting (Apr. 2, 2013)
Boy am I ready for these reminders.

Where ideas come from, Starlighting Mama (Apr. 3, 2013)
Hint: not from screen time.

10 Tips to raise a persistent child, Aha Parenting (Apr. 8, 2013)

Cursive handwriting bill passes the NC house, News & Observer (Apr. 4, 2013)
Hooray! I didn't realize Common Core has no cursive requirement. I guess you can't bubble-in to test it.

Creating fear in children with lockdown drills, Motherlode (Apr. 8, 2013)

Dutch kids get "driver's ed" for bikes at age 12, FreeRangeKids, (Apr. 8, 2013)
I love the common sense, and the absolute lack of faux terror that we propagate here.

"Glass Gem Compilation," Play at Home Mom (Apr. 10, 2013)
A great round-up of activities you can do with light tables and glass gems. Good resource.

Johnny Cash Columbia Catalog—63-disk box set, NPR (Apr. 10, 2013)

More news links at Newsish!

I run across a number of articles to share around each week, and in an effort to diminish my image as a militant pro-BF, AP, anti-circ, education aware, pro-teacher, anti-testing, natural (except for the Cokes and cookies), empathy parent spammer — and to simplify the inboxes of my friends — I've started a blog / feed that is articles-only called Newsish.

You may find some duplication here, and hopefully you can suffer that offense silently, with my apologies.

Should it be a Twitter feed instead? Probably. But I'm not dealing with Twitter. I don't need another format to manage; I spend too much time online as it is.

Hop over to Newsish by clicking here.

Reading Roundup - 2013.04.05

Here are a few articles that caught my eye this week:



Introverted kids need to learn to speak up at school, The Atlantic (Feb. 7, 2013)
I totally agree with this—with the caveat that scaffolding and support is offered to teach speaking up, rather than demanding it.

Family Inc., Wall Street Journal (Feb. 10, 2013)
Run your family like a business, with a mission statement. Sorry I'm not sure if the link will work.

What does an iPad do to a child's mind? New York Times (March 31, 2013)

The opposite of play isn't work, Teacher Tom, (Apr. 5, 2013)
Discussing the effort of the de-professionalization of teachers

Parents talking about their own drug use to children could be detrimental, EurekaAlert (Feb. 22, 2013)
via Attachment Parenting International

Atlanta test cheating: tip of the iceberg? Washington Post Answer Sheet (Apr. 1, 2013)

If you don't support breastfeeding in public, you don't support breastfeeding, Huffington Post (Apr. 1, 2013)

The new kindergarten: Kids write 'informative' reports, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Apr. 3, 2013)

Is organic milk healthy? Homemade Mommy (Dec. 4, 2012)

Today's quote, via Literate Kids on Facebook:
"The problems many children have are actually generated by too much time spent in environments in which children are expected to "behave." When a restricted environment isn't balanced out by an hour or more a day when children can run hard, laugh hard, wrestle, be daring, and engage in spontaneous play, the strain shows in their behavior." —Patty Wipfler, Hand in Hand Parenting

Reading Roundup 2013.03.22

Not a lot of great reads in the last few weeks, but here are a few I thought were interesting.

6 Ways to help children cope with frustration, Everyday Family (March 6, 2013)

Reading, Writing, Video Games, New York Times Opinion, (March 15, 2013)
"A 2012 report by the New Media Consortium identified "game-based learning" as one of the major trends affecting education in the next five years." Ugh.

Minecraft spawns classroom lessons, Washington Post (March 14, 2013)
"Mr. Lanphier said the reason that we're using this is because it's an accurate way to build things without just having to write down all this stuff," [one student] said.

The Family Stories that Bind Us, New York Times (March 15, 2013)
"Children who have the most self-confidence have what's called a strong "intergenerational self." They know they belong to something bigger than themselves....The bottom line: If you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come."

Should machines be used to grade student writing? Inside Higher Ed (March 15, 2013)
So not only is your child going to spend more than ten hours on this one state test, which will be administered on computers that your school does not have funding to maintain, but also this information —which is supposed to gauge roughly where your student is in his learning—is going to be used in some states as a graduation requirement, but will be graded by machine.

We can do better for our students, and we must.

I am not your wife, sister or daughter, The Belle Jar (March 18, 2013)
"This device....is reductive as hell. It defines women by their relationships to other people, rather than as people themselves. It says that women are only important when they are married to, have given birth to, or have been fathered by other people. It says that women are only important because of who they belong to."


Some really great parenting reminders, all by Aletha Solter, who founded the Aware Parenting Institute. You may have seen her work in Mothering magazine:
Why do Children Misbehave?
Twenty Alternatives to Punishment
The Disadvantages of Time Out
Weekly Family Meetings for Conflict Resolution

New Sparkle Stories series — and a free story!

A new Sparkle Stories series launches next week—More Adventures with Martin and Silvia!

To celebrate, they are sharing a free story called Everywhere Explorers:

When Martin and Sylvia play "explorers," they don their special hats and venture happily into the back yard or surrounding forest with their eyes and ears ready to discover something new. But their sense of adventure is put to the test when they are told they need to spend a whole day in Momma's office. "Explorers always find something exciting everywhere they go," says Daddy. But brother and sister are not so sure. Could they really be explorers—everywhere?

Starboy is in love with Sparkle Stories, and Martin and Sylvia are practically part of our family. If you haven't checked them out, try the free story!

Reading Roundup 03.01.13

Here are a few things I've been reading this week.

When Seth MacFarlane is a Complete Ass and You Don't Even Notice, Jezebel, (Feb 26, 2013)
A must-read.

How to Make Better Teachers, Teacher Tom (Feb. 25, 2013)
Great article on what really matters in teaching. "As Lois Weiner, professor of eduction at New Jersey City University puts it:  '(These initiatives are) part of this global project to deprofessionalize teaching as an occupation . . . the thinking is that the biggest expenditure in education is teacher salaries. And they want to cut costs . . . that means they have to lower teacher costs. And in order to do that, they have to deprofessionalize teaching. They have to make it a revolving door, in which we're not going to pay teachers very much. They're not going to stay very long. We're going to credential them really fast . . . We're going burn them up. They're going to leave in three, four, five years. And that's the model they want. So who is the biggest impediment to that occurring? Teachers' unions. And that is what explains this massive propaganda effort to say that teacher's unions are an impediment to reform. And in fact, they are an impediment to the deprofessionalization of teaching . . . It's a disaster for public education.'"

Yahoo's Blow to Work-Family Balance, NYT Motherlode (Feb. 25, 2013)

Why does my kid freak out? The science behind toddler tantrums, Slate (Feb. 27, 2013)
Very Relatable

46 Reasons my Three Year Old Might be Freaking Out, Jason Good (Dec. 13, 2012)
Classic. I may have posted before. Still funny.

Sugar is Toxic, NYT (Feb. 27, 2013)
Another must-read. But I bet you'll be hearing a lot more about it in the coming months.

Reading Roundup 2013.02.15

A few things I've been reading lately.

Why parents need to let their children fail, The Atlantic (Jan .29, 2013), via Not Just Cute

Frustration and Rage, Conscious Transitions (Jan. 14, 2013)
Really great article on patience and parenting with little ones.

Why introverts shouldn't be forced to talk in class, Washington Post
Great article, with teacher tips on other methods of group participation besides raising your hand and giving a verbal answer.

Reading Roundup 2013.02.08

A few things that caught my eye this week.


Five alternatives to yelling, Awesomely Awake (Feb. 1, 2013) (via Not Just Cute)

43 Chores young children can do, parenting Squad (Mar. 10, 2011)

Something is Rotten in the State of Maryland, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Feb. 4, 2013)

Scarlet Fever Probably Didn't Blind Mary Ingalls, NY Times (Feb. 4, 2013)

Reading Roundup 2013.02.01

I didn't find much of interest this week. The news these days seems to be blah blah education blah blah testing blah blah editorial standing up against blah blah GUNS GUNS GUNS blah and so forth. I didn't see all that much that was new.

Ordinarily I'll save the post for next week unless there are at least three items, but this way at least you know I'm thinking about you. A little.

A Reprieve for the Gnomes of Oakland, We Bloom Here (Jan. 29, 2013)
Painted gnomes keep turning up at the bottom of Oakland's telephone poles. PGE finally gives up asking them to be taken down for "safety" and they are allowed to stay.

Great Parenting Advice, Babble (Jan. 30, 2013)


....Wait, here's a third one:

Emails link Jeb Bush foundation, corporations, laws and ed officials, WashPost (Jan. 30, 2013)
Shocker.

...Oh, right. And actually this one is a can't-miss. Even though I missed it five months ago. That dang Pony Express...

Trampire: Why the public slut shaming of Kristen Stewart matters for Young Women, HuffPost (Sept. 4, 2012)

Reading Roundup 2013.01.25

Whoopsie, I was supposed to post this on Friday. Here are a few things that have caught my eye lately.

Who's Next? Washington Post Answer Sheet (Jan. 18, 2013)
Some real numbers on how much time those tests take.

Pearson criticized for finding test essay scorers on Craigslist, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Jan. 16, 2013)

It's Vegas, (Breastfeeding) Baby, Vegas! Huff Post (Jan. 16, 2013)

The Second Amendment was Ratified to Preserve Slavery, Truth-Out (Jan. 15, 2013)

Evolution, Teacher Tom
About children, change and growth...and rotating materials to stimulate growing minds. (Jan 19, 2013)

Traces of melamine from dinnerware can seep into food, study says, Los Angeles Times (Jan. 21, 2013)

D.C. public schools may drop U.S. government requirement, WashPost (Jan. 23, 2013)
What am I doing in this basket and why is it so hot in here?

Reading Roundup — 2013.01.18

The Kabuki of Hand Washing, Teacher Tom (Mar. 9, 2010)

Six minutes of outstanding storytelling, and by a highschooler, Snap Judgement

Recess is important to child development, Time (Dec. 31, 2012)

Choose a one-word theme for your year, Fairy Dust Teaching (Jan. 2, 2012)

Everything you've heard about failing schools is wrong, Mother Jones (Sept./Oct. 2012)

Reading Roundup—2012.12.28

A few things that caught my eye over the past few weeks:

Best Practices for Raising Kids? Look to Hunter-Gatherers, Newsweek and The Daily Beast

Baby Formula Ads in Sweden May Soon be Banned from Featuring Babies, Huffington Post (Nov. 8, 2012).
When I posted this link on FB, the headline was: Will This Law Make Moms Feel Like Failures? Which is outrageous, in my opinion. Why isn't the question: Will this law help more mothers breastfeed successfully, and for longer?

Are there aspects of mothering that can make you feel like shit? Yes. Quite a lot of them, actually. Should you refuse to keep trying at something for the absolute health of your baby just because you feel like a failure? Um, no. Sucking it up so your baby can come first is called Motherhood. Should there be training and resources in place so that mothers can be supported and successful in this often difficult aspect of the journey? Yes, yes, yes. And if it takes a law to generate an upswell in community support, then, well, that's one way to go. That's my opinion, anyway.

Is the Medical Community Failing Breastfeeding Moms? Time (Jan. 2, 2013)
Spoiler alert: The answer is yes. Duh.

How to Overcome Neediness, Huffington Post blogs (Nov. 15, 2012)
Feel free to add a comment below so I can feel connected. (Snicker)

Listening for Understanding, The Attached Family (Dec. 31, 2012)

Education Stories that Resonated in 2012—and will matter in 2013, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Dec. 31, 2012)

Robbed, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Jan. 2, 2013)

Choose a one-word theme for the year, rather than a resolution, Fairy Dust Teaching (Jan. 2, 2013)

Denying recess should not be used as a discipline tool, USA Today (Dec. 31, 2012)

Reading Roundup 2012.12.07

Here are a few things that caught my eye this week. Lots of brain candy this week, with a few gems.

A 'value-added' travesty for an award-winning teacher, Washington Post Answer Sheet (Dec.3, 2012)
This value-added baloney just drives me stark-raving mad. If you ever thought for a moment that this was a good idea, please read this article.

When Relatives Criticize, The Attached Family (Oct. 2, 2012 and reprinted Dec. 4, 2012 in their newsletter)
Wow, is this a great article for difficult families. Highly recommend.

Books do furnish a mind, Roger Ebert's Journal (Nov. 14, 2012)

ID required to buy microwave pudding at Tesco Express, Daily Mail Online (Nov. 30, 2012)
Because a child might burn himself with the molten chocolate. Seriously.

Treasure Maps, The Story (Dec. 5, 2012)
A really wonderful audio story about a stunning cache of historic maps, and how the LA Library acquired them.

Story of a guy who found $175k worth of pot in his backyard, via LA Observed (Dec. 6, 2012)

Take Five on ukulele, LA Observed, (Dec. 6, 2012)

Reading Roundup 2012-10-19

Declutter, add rhythm, create blank spaces and give kids kid time, sez Kim John Payne, Ottawa Citizen (Sept. 24, 2012)

Can 'Edu-Toys' do more harm than good?, CBC (Jan. 2005)

We Only Think When Confronted With a Problem, Tinkerlab (Oct. 2012)

Waldorf and Brain Science, The Magic Onions (Oct. 7, 2010)

Students' Traumatic Lives affect teacher's eval, Wash Post (Oct. 14, 2012)

"Something is wrong when...", Wash Post (Oct. 12, 2012)
"Something is very wrong when nine-year-olds sit for tests that are longer than the SAT and the GRE combined."

How to get your kid to listen, Mothering (Aug. 28, 2012)

Every hour of TV you watch after age 25 reduces life expectancy by 22 minutes, NYT (Oct. 17, 2012)

Reading Roundup 2012-10-12

Here are a few things I've been reading this week.

Alfie Kohn: What Do Kids Really Learn From Failure? Huffington Post, (Oct. 3, 2012)
This will give you something to think about....

Alfie Kohn library of articles online. Woot!

Ban under-threes from watching television, says study, The Guardian (Oct. 8, 2012)

Make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, KCET (Oct 5, 2012).
Brie and jam grilled cheese, now that's what I'm talking about.

Reading Roundup 2012.10.05

Here are a few things I've been reading this week:

The Motherhood of the Traveling Pants, This American Life, (Sep. 28, 2012)
Really fun story about pregnancy gender prediction in one family.

The Mom Stays in the Picture, Huffington Post (Oct. 2, 2012)
Just try to keep a dry eye. An article about keeping perspective.

5 Biggest Lies about America's Public Schools—Debunked Alternet (Oct. 1, 2012)
I swear I read stories that are more than lists, but I guess writers are writing a lot of list stories lately.

Alfie Kohn on Standardized Testing, Edweek (Sept. 19, 2012)
His speechwriters had President George W. Bush proclaim, "Measurement is the cornerstone of learning." What they should have written was "Measurement is the cornerstone of the kind of learning that lends itself to being measured."

170 Scientific Reasons to Avoid Soy in Your Diet, The Healthy Home Economist (Sept. 29, 2012)
Another list!

Reading Roundup 2012-09-17

Here are some things I've been reading this week.

Is Technology Sapping Children's Creativity? Washington Post Answer Sheet (Sept. 13, 2012)

How the Finnish School System outshines US Education, Stanford University News (Jan. 20, 2012)
The Finnish school system might sound like a restless American schoolchild's daydream: school hours cut in half, little homework, no standardized tests, 50-minute recess and free lunch. But the Finns' unconventional approach to education has vaulted Finland to the upper echelon of countries in overall academic performance, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

True Sharing Can't Be Taught, The Attached Family, (Aug. 22, 2012) (Registration Required)
When educational television tries to teach young children to share, it's helpful for parent to know how the desire to share really develops in children....Sharing isn't something that is learned. True sharing comes from feelings of caring, together with the ability to think about the 'yes' and 'no' feelings of sharing. In other words, when you care about someone, you will want to share with him.

Get in some Gelatin, The Nutrition Coach (Apr. 1, 2012)

Make your own (healthy) Jell-o, The Little Gnomes Home (Aug. 21, 2012)

Fermentation guru seeks out new (and old) flavors, New York Times, (Sept. 17, 2012)

5 Ways the Modern World Makes You Easy to Stalk, Cracked (Sept. 13, 2012)
Big Brother is watching you. Only it's not big brother. It's anyone.

7 Ways to make your work easy to fact check, Poynter (Sept. 17, 2012)